Chapter 34 — Smaug Tricked Me
Having been a corporate wage slave in his previous life, Smaug could perfectly imagine what the other six Stone Giants were feeling at that very moment.
So—
Without hesitation, Smaug took off again and began feeding gemstones to each of them in turn.
Of course, the portions given to the other six were slightly smaller—nothing too excessive. After all, they couldn't outshine the Queen.
Before long, the feeding was done. Smaug returned to the Stone Giant Queen's shoulder.
Just in time, she finished her meal.
"Honored Queen," Smaug said, seizing the moment and getting straight to the point.
"I would like to invite you all to move to my home. I live at the Lonely Mountain. There are many more stones like these there."
"What do you think?"
The Stone Giant Queen said nothing.
She fell silent.
Smaug had no choice but to wait patiently.
He waited.
And waited.
So long, in fact, that just as Smaug began to suspect she'd eaten her fill and fallen asleep, she finally spoke.
"The Lonely Mountain… I know it," the Queen said slowly.
"Provide… enough food… and we will go."
Success!
Smaug was instantly thrilled.
"No problem. I'll provide more than enough food."
[Quest Completed]
[Three Silver Blind Boxes have been added to your inventory]
Using gemstones that were practically worthless to him in Middle-earth, Smaug had not only recruited seven top-tier combat units, but had also earned three Silver Blind Boxes.
A massive profit.
An absurd profit.
"Good," the Stone Giant Queen replied.
"Then let's leave right away," Smaug pressed while the iron was hot.
"No," the Queen answered flatly.
"Night… then we go."
"…All right," Smaug replied quickly. That kind of dramatic pause was really not good for his heart.
The Stone Giant Queen fell silent again—and remained motionless.
The other six Stone Giants did the same.
Seeing this, Smaug looked up at the sky.
So we're just… waiting until nightfall?
Well, fine. It's only a few hours.
A few hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Night fell.
"Go," the Stone Giant Queen suddenly said.
Before long—
The seven Stone Giants formed a line and officially began their relocation, marching toward the Lonely Mountain.
Naturally, the movement was earth-shattering.
But for the goblin lackeys who had been secretly watching the entire time, the noise barely registered compared to the shock in their hearts.
"Smaug… tricked the Stone Giants into leaving?"
"Looks like it…"
"That actually worked?"
"But hey, this is great news! Now we won't have to worry about those giants throwing rocks anymore!"
"Yeah! The King will be thrilled!"
Soon enough, the lackey goblin once again rushed back to the grotesquely obese Goblin King to report:
"Your Majesty! Good news! Smaug took all the Stone Giants away! Looks like they're heading to the Lonely Mountain!"
The Goblin King froze.
What kind of development was this?
What was Smaug planning?
And more importantly—how the hell did he even pull that off?
The Goblin King couldn't figure it out.
But since it was undeniably good news, he decided not to think too hard about it.
He burst into laughter.
"Good! Very good! Excellent!"
"From now on, the Misty Mountains belong to me alone!"
"This calls for a celebration!"
"Bring wine! Bring food!"
"Play the music! Dance!
And so, the Goblin Kingdom launched into a wild celebration.
Deep below—
A starving Gollum listened to the endless thunderous noises echoing from outside. Finding it unbearably loud, he scuttled out with quick, scraping movements, determined to see what those Stone Giants were up to this time.
About a quarter of an hour later—
Gollum saw it.
And his wide eyes filled with unmistakable confusion.
"Precious… what's happening?"
"Why is Smaug here?"
"Why are the Stone Giants following Smaug?"
"Precious, we've never eaten dragon meat."
"Smaug looks very tasty… doesn't he?"
After muttering to himself for a while, the clearly unhinged—but by no means stupid, in fact quite clever—Gollum turned around and hurried back into the underground tunnels.
---
A night passed.
Dawn slowly broke.
The Stone Giant Queen suddenly stopped walking.
"Day… light," she said.
"Night… walk."
…Right.
Smaug glanced back at the Misty Mountains, which were actually still not that far behind them. What could he say? He could only obediently slow down and wait.
He truly hadn't expected this—these massive Stone Giants moved this slowly. Along the way, they carefully avoided forests and all manner of living creatures…
Looks like this is going to take a long time, Smaug thought silently.
Unknowingly—
Seven days passed.
At last, the Lonely Mountain appeared in the distance.
After crawling forward at a glacial pace for an entire week, seeing his home again that morning filled Smaug with an unexpected sense of nostalgia.
Coming home is really hard.
---
At the same time—
The elves of Mirkwood were losing their minds.
And none more so than Smaug's unfortunate neighbor, Thranduil, who was practically on the verge of jumping in rage.
"He lied to me!"
From the highest point of his realm, staring at the seven Stone Giants in the distance, Thranduil ground his teeth.
"He said there were only two! There are seven!!!"
Beside him, Prince Legolas stared at the seven colossal figures—so enormous they defied description—and felt his scalp go numb. For a moment, he couldn't find words.
With those seven Stone Giants present…
Unless Smaug allowed it, how could Sauron possibly cross the Lonely Mountain?
And if Smaug wished it—Mirkwood could be utterly annihilated in an instant.
"Father…"
Legolas finally found his voice. "What should we do now?"
"That damned dragon!"
Thranduil snapped, abandoning all traces of his usual elegance. He then took a deep breath, forcibly steadying himself.
"There's no need to panic. As long as those seven Stone Giants have not completely submitted to Smaug, the situation hasn't changed too drastically."
"You may not know this," Thranduil continued,
"but Stone Giants cherish life. They rarely take it. Those seven are unlikely to fight wars for Smaug."
After a brief pause, he added:
"The real change is this—
From now on, no force can destroy the Dragon Kingdom without paying an unbearable price."
Legolas understood at once.
"Father… Smaug brought them to the Lonely Mountain for defense?"
"Yes," Thranduil replied.
And silently, in his heart, he added: Let that be the truth.
Taking another deep breath, Thranduil made his decision.
"We must seriously consider accepting Smaug's proposal for cooperation."
He did not want to abandon his home.
Now, with seven Stone Giants moving to the Lonely Mountain, Smaug's odds of standing against Sauron had increased dramatically.
In that case—
Cooperating with Smaug to preserve Mirkwood was clearly the wiser bargain.
As for the loss of dignity that came with working alongside a dragon?
That was hardly worth worrying about.
After all, he had once cooperated with foolish, greedy dwarves—
And if one were being honest, the current Smaug was far preferable to that idiot dwarf king.